On the Road

Tom Hardy is impressive in ‘Locke’

For years now, I’ve heard about the brilliance of Tom Hardy. I’ve
never quite seen said brilliance, though there are flashes in Lawless
and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It’s in Locke that Hardy’s
brilliance shines—through a rainy windshield, through nearly imperceptible voice
breaks.

It’s a pity, too, that Locke—a character study of a man
trying to control his life when life has other plans—is such a quiet movie;
it’s not the kind of picture that garners much notice beyond critical praise.

Hardy is Ivan Locke, a construction manager in charge of what will
be Europe’s biggest ever concrete pour, who decides he must deal with a
personal mistake. That mistake—a one-night stand—will have dire consequences
for his job and his family, and on the course of a drive to London, Locke tries
to set his affairs in order via car phone.

Hardy is almost the whole show here—the other actors are excellent,
too, but they exist off screen in phone calls—and his performance is the
epitome of understated screen acting. Watch the way his face changes; listen
for the breaks in his voice as reality slowly sinks in. Watch the way Locke
constantly rolls his sleeves, as if he’s unconsciously convinced he can control
one thing. Hardy is nothing short of magnificent in Locke.